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Ohio State basketball bounces back from bad loss with 64-60 win over UConn

Updated on December 10, 2016 at 8:19 PMPosted on December 10, 2016 at 8:15 PM

Jae'Sean Tate,Christian Vital,Amida Brimah

Ohio State forward Jae'Sean Tate, center, passes the ball between Connecticut guard Christian Vital, left, and center Amida Brimah during the first half of Saturday's game at Value City Arena.
(Paul Vernon, Associated Press)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State didn't want to string together multiple losses coming off its game against Florid Atlantic on Tuesday night. And the Buckeyes play No. 2 UCLA in seven days.

So Saturday's game against Connecticut was about as must-win as a December nonconference game can be.

The Buckeyes won, 64-60, avenging a 20-point loss at UConn last year and making sure they didn't go skidding into next weekend's game against the Bruins.

Ohio State and UConn were tied at 54 at the final media timeout with 2:40 left. It's December, but whatever happened next was going to have a major impact on the season and tell you a lot about the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes built a 62-54 lead from there on good defense and free throws. UConn had the ball down four with nine seconds left, and Ohio State forced two bad shots at the end to come away with the win.

Trevor Thompson had the best game of his Ohio State career. The junior center led the Buckeyes with 17 points and 17 rebounds. JaQuan Lyle had 16 points, Jae'Sean Tate had 13 and Ohio State survived shooting 2-of-18 from 3-point range.

UConn put together a 10-0 run that spanned both halves, and built a lead that got up to as much as eight. It took Ohio State some time to claw back, but the Buckeyes put together a methodical, three-minute 7-0 run and took a 49-47 lead on a pair of Thompson free throws with 8:01 left.

That was the Buckeyes' first lead in 13 minutes.

What it means

Ohio State (8-2) got a win it needed to have coming off a loss to Florida Atlantic. The Buckeyes have one more major nonconference tilt left, but guaranteed at least a split in four games against Providence, Virginia, UConn and UCLA.

Mental lapse before half

Here's a sequence that's a microcosm of Ohio State's season:

The Buckeyes called timeout with 32 seconds left in the first half to draw up what they hoped would be the final shot. They looked confused, could never find the right look and settled on a forced Loving jumper that missed the rim.

UConn came down the other end, and Ohio State somehow lost Jalen Adams, the Huskies' leading scorer. Adams hit a wide open 3-pointer at the buzzer to send UConn into the break with a 34-32 lead.

That didn't undo all of the good the Buckeyes did in the first half, and there was some, but that's the kind of quick mental lapse that's plagued Ohio State all year.

The Buckeyes led 12-4 in the early going, but then went cold from the field. UConn climbed back in it with Ohio State mired in a 2-for-14 stretch in the middle of the half. The Huskies took a brief 19-18 lead with 7:05 left.

Ohio State regained the lead on a personal six-point run from Thompson and led the rest of the half until Adams' 3-pointer.

What's next?

Ohio State has a week off before playing No. 2 UCLA next Saturday in Las Vegas. Tip-off set for 3 p.m., and the game will be televised on CBS.